Pint-Sized
Science: Magic Rings
By Sandy Fleming
There's an entire world
just waiting to be explored in your very own backyard.
You can change your child's perspective and point of view with
this simple activity idea. Using inexpensive and readily available
materials, you can open your child's eyes to wonders! This activity
is
suitable for preschoolers and up. Younger children participate
with extra
supervision and assistance. Any number can enjoy it, making it
great for
families, care providers, teachers, and children's group leaders.
The
activity has many names, but my favorite is "Magic Ring."
You will need a length
of string or yarn for each child or group. The exact
size is not really important, but two to four feet seems to work
well. You
may want to use smaller strings with younger or less experienced
children.
Tie the ends of the string together to form a loop. In addition,
you may
want to gather magnifying glasses, paper and pencils for sketching,
and
field guides with information about plants, rocks, and insects
common to
your area.
Choose an open area of
grass or dirt and lay the circle of string on the
ground. The area enclosed by the string becomes a tiny world,
full of
wonders and surprises just waiting to be discovered. Children
will be
astounded by the variety of plants and creatures living within
their "magic
rings." If available, use the magnifying glasses for closer
peeks at the
finds from within the circle. Be sure to stress to the kids that
these are
living creatures, not to be uprooted or disturbed. Watching with
eyes
instead of hands will ensure that the plant and animal life within
the ring
remains healthy and whole.
Children can work alone
or in groups for this activity. I've found that
pairs of children do well at this. The children naturally take
different
positions around the circle and so view it from different perspectives.
Their viewing angle affects what they see and what they notice.
Also, if
children are working with partners or in small groups, it is
interesting for
them to compare their observations of the same space.
Use the idea as a starting
point for learning that is appropriate for your
children's age groups. Encourage language skills by having children
describe
what they see within their circles. Ask lots of open-ended questions
that
require full sentence answers. Don't fall into the trap of asking
only
simple yes/no questions, like "Did you see an ant?" Instead,
encourage
longer responses with conversation starters like "Tell me
about something in
your circle that moved."
This activity also lends
itself to categorizing activities. Count flowers,
insects, pebbles, and so forth. Were there any manmade items
within the
circle? What kinds? How did they get there? Discuss environmental
issues
together with the kids as well. Are there signs of erosion or
damage to the
environment within the circle? What might be causing it?
Children may enjoy sketching
their more interesting finds. The search
through field guides for pictures that match plants and insects
observed
will help young children to notice similarities and differences.
Older kids
will benefit from doing more in-depth research to learn facts
about their
finds. Venn Diagrams (You remember, those intertwining circles
where you
list attributes of two things. You list the characteristics that
are common
between the two items in the middle area where the two circles
overlap,
and things that are unique about each thing in the outer parts
of each
circle.) are a wonderful tool to help children notice similarities
and
differences. You can create Venn Diagrams that show comparisons
between two
different magic rings, or between the observations of one ring
during two
different time periods (morning and afternoon?) or two different
kinds of
weather (sunny or cool and cloudy?). Also, don't forget to include
some
graphing activities to compare observed plants and animals in
different
rings. Even young children can create a simple bar graph by coloring
or
pasting one marker for each thing observed.
No matter what follow-up
or extension activities you choose to use, try
making "magic rings" with your kids soon. It's a super
way to build an
appreciation for the wonders of creation, and we all need reminders
from
time to time to notice the small miracles around us each and
every day.
Sandy Fleming
is an educator, author and workshop facilitator. She resides
in southern Michigan with her husband and three daughters.
Sandy leads workshops for daycare providers and parents
in the region, tutors students, volunteers for Girl Scouts
and her church, and teaches online classes for adults and
children. She loves to make new friends, so please drop
her an e-mail at kids@busyparentsonline.com
